Latin American Region Research Articles

Russian-Venezuelan relations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The perspective of Russia's superpower interests

Background: The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has been instrumentalised on several occasions by powers that have seen a new sphere for realising their interests. One such power is the Russian Federation. The article aims to explain the importance of close relations with Venezuela for Russia's strategic objectives in expanding its political power in the Latin American region in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve the research objective, the authors focused on answering the following research questions: How has the political crisis in Venezuela affected the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic? Why and how does Russia consistently support the regime of Nicolás Maduro in times of a pandemic crisis? The article's research hypothesis is that Russia used the new conditions of superpower policy, the COVID-19 pandemic, to strengthen its influence on Venezuela's domestic politics to secure the realisation of its superpower interests. Methods: The authors used content analysis of media broadcasts, statements by politicians, and literature on the subject (in English, Russian and Spanish). In addition, the re-analysis of quantitative data made it possible, for example, to characterise the economic level of the relations. The main part of the research was completed in November 2021. The article uses methods characteristic of international relations research, including the method of decision analysis. Results: The results of the research confirm that Moscow’s activity in Latin America should be interpreted as one of the manifestations of the reactivity of Russian geostrategy, i.e. a response to U.S. actions in the post-Soviet area. Conclusions: In this context, Caracas has a special position in Russia’s policy as a key regional partner in energy cooperation and a market for the sale of military technologies. The research was conducted on 13 March 2020 and ended before 24 February 2022.

Prospective memory in patients with Mild Cogntive Impairment

Prospective memory is the ability to remember to carry out intended actions and to evoke delayed intentions. It constitutes a crucial skill for the daily functioning of the elderly. It might also be prematurely compromised in neurodegenerative diseases. In the Latin American region, objective measures are not available for its assessment. The aim of this study is to explore prospective memory in patients diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment. As specific aims, we intend to discriminate the performance on prospective memory between patients and healthy subjects and to study the internal consistency and inter-examiner reliability of the Mini Cóndor Test (a simplified version of a prospective memory test developed in Argentina). We carried out a comparative study including a group of 20 patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and a group of 20 healthy subjects as control group. Results indicated significant statistically differences between groups in prospective memory performance in favor of the control group. The Mini Cóndor Test met adequate scores for internal consistency and inter-rater reliability. These preliminary results suggest that the Mini Cóndor Test has the potential to early detect cognitive impairment associated to neurodegenerative pathology.

The Pursuit of Entrepreneurship by Youths in the Caribbean

Youth entrepreneurship is being promoted by policymakers in developing countries as a key strategy to combat high youth unemployment, reduce individual poverty, engender social mobility, and facilitate youth inclusion in the formal economy. International, regional, national, and other stakeholders have promulgated policies and programs to lend support for this strategy. This article utilized data derived from a survey of youth entrepreneurs conducted in the town of Linden, Guyana, together with agency interviews from the same community and from national agencies involved in youth entrepreneurship to fulfill its objectives. The survey and agency interviews are part of a broader mixed method study conducted by the authors aimed at understanding the factors impacting youth entrepreneurship in Guyana, a developing country in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region. The importance of the survey to this study is to discern what youth entrepreneurs themselves say about their businesses and about themselves as entrepreneurs. This paper adds to the sparse literature on this phenomenon. The intent of the authors of this study is multi-faceted. This paper seeks to provide an understanding of who these young entrepreneurs are, the factors that motivate them to start their own businesses and their preparedness for such ventures. We explore and explain the support provided to youth entrepreneurs, their access to and perceptions of such support. Thirdly, we provide an understanding of how youth entrepreneurs view the successes and positives of their businesses and their intimate feelings and fears about their ventures. This paper challenges the prevailing “necessity entrepreneurship” framing of youth entrepreneurship.

The OECD's Education Agenda: Balancing Limited Membership, Global Reach, and Domestic Interests in Latin America

Global dynamics are becoming more prominent in education policy discussions, with the OECD standing out as a major player in the global education policy arena. Despite its selective and limited membership, the OECD’s reach and influence extend across the globe. This paper explores this paradox through an analytical review that bridges the field of education policy to the broader panorama of global governance, examining factors related to the growing involvement of Latin American countries with the OECD’s education agenda. Delineating the organization’s history and expansion strategy, as well as domestic drivers for membership and participation, this article examines the complex interplay between globalization, international mechanisms of norm diffusion and soft power, national interests, and internal politics. It concludes by outlining the multidimensional game that links institutional reasons, international dynamics, and domestic motivations with the appeal of organizations such as the OECD and its education initiatives in the Latin American region.

Architecture, politics and peacebuilding in Medellín

ABSTRACT The transformation of Medellín in Colombia is well known to urbanists. A highly contested, violent and unequal city in the 1980s and 1990s, Medellín’s Social Urbanism ushered in a series of ambitious reforms that reimagined public space and mobility. These were designed to address challenges related to violence and inequality, concerns which are present both in Medellín and across the Latin American region. In examining the relationship between architecture, politics and peacebuilding, we consider how the role of architecture was and is conceptualised in the city’s socio-political transformation and how the changing form and use of the urban built environment contributed to shaping conditions for peace to emerge. Drawing on qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, we show that while the challenges of violence remain, the architectural and the political became intrinsically entwined to both build peace in the city and forward a new image of Medellín both internally and externally.

Estimating mortality and disability in Peru before the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of the Disease Study 2019.

Estimating and analyzing trends and patterns of health loss are essential to promote efficient resource allocation and improve Peru's healthcare system performance. Using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (2019), we assessed mortality and disability in Peru from 1990 to 2019. We report demographic and epidemiologic trends in terms of population, life expectancy at birth (LE), mortality, incidence, prevalence, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) caused by the major diseases and risk factors in Peru. Finally, we compared Peru with 16 countries in the Latin American (LA) region. The Peruvian population reached 33.9 million inhabitants (49.9% women) in 2019. From 1990 to 2019, LE at birth increased from 69.2 (95% uncertainty interval 67.8-70.3) to 80.3 (77.2-83.2) years. This increase was driven by the decline in under-5 mortality (-80.7%) and mortality from infectious diseases in older age groups (+60 years old). The number of DALYs in 1990 was 9.2 million (8.5-10.1) and reached 7.5 million (6.1-9.0) in 2019. The proportion of DALYs due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) increased from 38.2% in 1990 to 67.9% in 2019. The all-ages and age-standardized DALYs rates and YLLs rates decreased, but YLDs rates remained constant. In 2019, the leading causes of DALYs were neonatal disorders, lower respiratory infections (LRIs), ischemic heart disease, road injuries, and low back pain. The leading risk factors associated with DALYs in 2019 were undernutrition, high body mass index, high fasting plasma glucose, and air pollution. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Peru experienced one of the highest LRIs-DALYs rates in the LA region. In the last three decades, Peru experienced significant improvements in LE and child survival and an increase in the burden of NCDs and associated disability. The Peruvian healthcare system must be redesigned to respond to this epidemiological transition. The new design should aim to reduce premature deaths and maintain healthy longevity, focusing on effective coverage and treatment of NCDs and reducing and managing the related disability.

Współpraca wojskowa Chin z państwami Ameryki Łacinskiej w XXI wieku

The aim of the article is to analyze the conditions and various dimensions of military cooperation between China and Latin American countries in the twenty-first century. The article consists of three parts. First of all, the author outlines Sino-Latin American relations in a broader perspective, presenting the conditions and goals of the Chinese presence in Latin America and the Caribbean and synthetically discussing the most important areas of political and economic cooperation. In the second part, he analyses the conditions and significance of military cooperation, pointing to the factors conducive to the development of cooperation, what is more, he motives and role of China’s military diplomacy in the Latin American region. In the third part, there are presented the most important forms of cooperation. The author focused on defense ministers’ and military commanders meetings, training, joint exercises and arms trade. The author’s priority goal is to show the evolution of military cooperation between the Middle Kingdom and Latin America and its importance for the balance of power in the region.

Sustainable urban development in Latin America

This paper shows the results of a documentary exploration of sustainable development in Latin America. The Latin American region is characterized by having holistic environmental policies, but it is also integrated and seeks to balance economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental preservation. For this work, different reliable sources have been analyzed to know the Latin American trends around the subject and specify the strategies that must be addressed to achieve the expected results. In this sense, a program is proposed that aims to strengthen environmental awareness and promote sustainable urban planning practices in rural communities in Latin America. The main results show that environmental education empowers local communities to become agents of change and adopt sustainable measures in natural resource management, agriculture, energy, and environmental conservation.

Estudio comparado de la educación virtual en Cuba y América Latina: dimensiones y profesionalización docente

Virtual education is a distance learning modality in which the educational space is found on the web, constituted by computer tools that enable didactic interaction, used exclusively through communication networks for the development of academic activities by materializing their dimensions. The objective of this article is to present a comparative study of virtual education in Cuba and Latin America in relation to the theory of its dimensions and teacher professionalization or technological pedagogical competencies as a process that allows for continuous and ascending professional development, in order to identify strengths and limitations. Related research was selected for the study. With this, it was possible to verify that, in general, Cuba presents similar characteristics in relation to virtual education as those of the Latin American region to which it belongs. Likewise, collaboration between Cuban universities and the Latin American region in this area of knowledge should continue to be strengthened. The combination of multidisciplinary groups and work objectives that allow for short and medium-term results would be other pending goals.

The use of trifluoromethyl tubercidin as a novel treatment of influenza in an overwhelmed health care setting: a correspondence

The use of trifluoromethyl tubercidin as a novel treatment of influenza in an overwhelmed health care setting: a correspondence

Age-Friendly Cities in Latin America: A Human Ecological Framework.

Despite the demographic aging of Latin America, the uptake of the WHO's Age-Friendly Cities Framework remains extremely low, with the notable exceptions of Chile, Mexico and Brazil. We argue for a broader human ecological framework, which focuses on the macro, meso and micro levels, to better address the context, challenges and opportunities for age-friendly cities in the Latin American region. The WHO's age-friendly city domains are primarily at the meso (community) scale, with a focus on built environment, services and participation. We call for more attention to be paid to the macro policy scale to address concerns regarding migration, demography and social policy context. More attention also should be given to the micro scale to recognize the critical role of family and informal care supports. It is possible that the WHO domains are the result of a design bias, with Global North settings in mind for their development. We find the domains of UNICEF's Child-Friendly Cities Initiative, which give more attention to the realities of the Global South, helpful to broaden the WHO's Age-Friendly Cities Framework.

The crime rate of five Latin American countries: Does income inequality matter?

Despite the Latin American region being the home to only 9 per cent of the global population, the region has the world's highest combined level of income inequality, with a measured net Gini coefficient of 48.3 (UNICEF, 2011) and has also registered approximately 40 per cent of the world's murders. Additionally, although the latest report published by ECLAC (2019) indicated that the level of income inequality has continued to trend downwards, the region's crime rate has remained persistently high. Thus, suggesting that while there is good reason to believe that income inequality could explain the incidence of crime in the region, the association between income inequality and the crime rate is not symmetrical. This paper aims to examine the asymmetric effect of income inequality on the crime rate of five Latin American countries. Utilising the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) technique proposed by Shin et al. (2014) on the annual data from 1984 to 2017, this study found the presence of asymmetric cointegration between income inequality and crime rates in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Columbia.

Ecotoxicity of pesticide formulations and their mixtures: the case of potato crops in Costa Rica.

Despite their environmental implications, ecotoxicological information regarding pesticide mixtures is relatively scarce. This study aimed to determine the ecotoxicity of individual pesticide formulations and their mixtures (insecticides and fungicides), which are applied during the production cycle of potato, according to agricultural practices from a Latin American region in Costa Rica. Two benchmark organisms were employed: Daphnia magna and Lactuca sativa. First, the evaluation of individual formulations (chlorothalonil, propineb, deltamethrin+imidacloprid, ziram, thiocyclam and chlorpyrifos) revealed differences between available EC50 for active ingredients (a.i.) and their respective formulations toward D. magna; on the contrary, no information could be retrieved from scientific literature for comparison in the case of L. sativa. In general, acute toxicity was higher toward D. magna than L. sativa. Moreover, interactions could not be determined on L. sativa, as the chlorothalonil formulation was not toxic at high levels and the concentration-response to propineb could not be fitted to obtain an IC50 value. The commercial formulation composed of deltamethrin+imidacloprid followed the concentration addition model (when compared with parameters retrieved from individual a.i.) and the other three mixtures evaluated (I: chlorothalonil-propineb-deltamethrin+imidacloprid; II: chlorothalonil-propineb-ziram-thiocyclam; III: chlorothalonil-propineb-chlorpyrifos) produced an antagonistic effect on D. magna, thus suggesting less acute toxicity than their individual components. Subsequent chronic studies showed that one of the most toxic mixtures (II) negatively affected D. magna reproduction at sublethal concentrations indicating that this mixture poses a risk to this species if these pesticides co-exist in freshwater systems. These findings provide useful data to better estimate the impact of real agricultural practices related to the use of agrochemicals.

Assessing the impact of wealth inequality on state capture in Latin America

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the effects of economic inequalities on state capture in Latin America. Economic inequalities are the defining issues of our time. While the effect of economic inequality has been explored before on its impact on state capture in Latin America, it has often been done in a qualitative manner. Moreover, most quantitative research to date uses poor proxy variables to assess the impact of inequalities on corruption and or state capture, such as the Gini coefficient, which suffers from a lot of missing data.Design/methodology/approachA random effects regression model is used to enable the exploitation of between level variation to greater generalize the results across the Latin American region while minimizing bias to the coefficient estimates.FindingsThe results demonstrate that the top 1% wealth inequality is highly statistically significant and positive in explaining the variation in state capture. The greater the share of wealth the 1% hold, the more state capture we should expect.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper presents the first empirical study using a novel variable, the top 1% share wealth inequality derived from the World Inequality Database that directly measures the top 1%’s share of wealth overall. The study examines the empirical effect of the top 1%’s share of wealth inequality in contributing to state capture. Nineteen Latin American countries are analyzed across the temporal period 1996–2021.

Revisión sistemática de la percepción de riesgo en agricultores ante la sequía: factores de influencia, contenidos percibidos, estrategias de adaptación y prácticas asociadas

Drought is an extreme climatic event that generates large impacts and losses in agriculture, causing the increase of global food insecurity and unsustainability of rural livelihoods. Based on this, the objective of this research was to conduct a systematic review of empirical studies that have reported the relationship between risk perception and adaptive strategies of farmers in the face of drought. For this reason, the review followed the guidelines and recommendations of the PRISMA statement. The databases consulted were Web of Science, Scopus and EBSCO. In total, 50 empirical studies, in Spanish and English, published between 2010 and 2021, that met the selection criteria were reviewed. The results highlight thdifferent factors influencingisk perception (years of experience, level of schooling, among others) and adaptation strategies (farm size, gender, access to credit, etc.). Finally, the effects of drought at the crop, livestock, personal and environmental levels were identified. In conclusion, we discuss its implications and limitations, highlighting the absence of studies in the Latin American region and in Spanish language. Future studies should be done with a place-based perspective, under which adaptive knowledge, beliefs, practices and actions can be recognized. On the other hand, climate change mitigation policies and programs must be proposed and implemented at a local scale.

Circulatory Pathways in the Water and Wastewater Sector in the Latin American Region

The Circular Economy (CE) is noted as an emerging framework to support sustainable production and consumption agendas. In addition, the CE aims to be a trigger for redefining economic growth pathways as sustainable, inclusive, and sensitive to ecological and environmental agendas, and to focus its operational standards on co-creating societal benefits. Concerning the guiding principles and the standards of practice applied to implement and scale circular economy, this study will provide an overview of water sector-specific circularity roadmaps and strategies in the Latin American Region (LAR). By using a semi-systematic review, document analysis, and qualitative assessment approach, we highlight framings and operational pathways, gaps, and needs within existing practices of circularity in the water sector. The results provide an overview of CE pathways at the national level of selected countries in the LAR, urging those nations to reflect various levels of advancement (low to high) with CE-focused innovations and policy support structures specific to the water and wastewater sectors. Towards the end, the study points to the ‘call for action’ to integrate outstanding advances and innovations in the circular economy within sectoral mandates for water and wastewater management, making an argument that circularity in the water sector could serve as an accelerator towards implementing the agenda outlined in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular for SDG 6 (water security for all).

Literary translation: Between intellectual cooperation and cultural diplomacy

Intellectual cooperation and cultural diplomacy are generally addressed by historians of international relations and by scholars working in global history. In this contribution, I approach them from a cultural but socially oriented perspective. I examine the history of the International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation (IIIC) with a focus on the translation activities it promoted and the functions the latter fulfilled in society. To this end, I first present the main activities that configured the IIIC’s translation policy. Then I delve into the political dimensions of intellectual cooperation, many of which shaped the translation projects developed by this institution in turn. Finally, I focus on a specific translation project, namely, the Ibero-American Collection. Its editorial history is reconstructed to show the ways this collection fulfilled functions that surpassed its foundational purpose, including unplanned functions related to Latin American regional cooperation and to the promotion of a Latin American regional identity.

Real-World Experience on the Use of COVID-19 Vaccination in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Treated with Cladribine Tablets Participating in the ADVEVA® Patient Support Program within the Gulf and Latin American Regions

Real-World Experience on the Use of COVID-19 Vaccination in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Treated with Cladribine Tablets Participating in the ADVEVA® Patient Support Program within the Gulf and Latin American Regions

Interview with Dr. Fernanda Beigel: Latin America wants to strengthen regional science through new global open access configurations

Abstract Latin America is a cultural power composed of almost 40 countries, when the Caribbean is included, and with over 660 million inhabitants. In spite of political instability and severe cuts in investments in science and technology, the Latin American region shares sociocultural richness and an open access culture that aims to democratize knowledge, from non-profit publishers of public universities and scientific societies that work to strengthen regional science output. About 60% of the science output indexed in international databases is available in open access, much of it is diamond, which means that it doesn’t include any Article Processing Charge (APC) for authors. Peer Review https://publons.com/publon/10.1162/qss_a_00235

Global issues in obstetric anaesthesia: perspectives from South Africa, Japan, China, Latin America and North America

South Africa is classified as a low- and middle-income country, with a complex mixture of resource-rich and resource-limited settings. In the major referral hospitals, the necessary skill level exists for the management of complex challenges. However, this contrasts with the frequently-inadequate skill levels of anaesthesia practitioners in resource-limited environments.In Japan, obstetricians administer anaesthesia for 40% of caesarean deliveries and 80% of labour analgesia. Centralisation of delivery facilities is now occurring and it is expected that obstetric anaesthesiologists will be available 24 h a day in centralised facilities in the future.In China, improvements in women’s reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child, and adolescent health are critical government policies. Obstetric anaesthesia, especially labour analgesia, has received unprecedented attention. Chinese obstetric anaesthesiologists are passionate about clinical research, focusing on efficacy, safety, and topical issues.The Latin-American region has different landscapes, people, languages, and cultures, and is one of the world’s regions with the most inequality. There are large gaps in research, knowledge, and health services, and the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists is committed to working with governmental and non-governmental organisations to improve patient care and access to safe anaesthesia.Anaesthesia workforce challenges, exacerbated by coronavirus disease 2019, beset North American healthcare. Pre-existing struggles by governments and decision-makers to improve health care access remain, partly due to unfamiliarity with the role of the anaesthesiologist. In addition to weaknesses in work environments and dated standards of work culture, the work-life balance demanded by new generations of anaesthesiologists must be acknowledged.